Loki’s ending reveals the most important character in Doctor Strange 2
America Chavez may be the key to fighting Kang.
The Loki Season 1 finale blew the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe wide open. The death of a powerful Kang variant known as He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) resulted in the creation of a new multiverse within the MCU — one filled with so many overlapping branch realities that it’ll be nearly impossible to contain or traverse them.
That’s what makes the emergence of Kang the Conqueror, who can travel through time and between realities, so dangerous. How will the MCU’s heroes stop a villain so powerful that he (and his variants) can alter and conquer multiple realities at the drop of a hat?
The answer may lie with a Marvel comics hero who is set to make her MCU debut next year.
A multiverse of madness.
Traversing the Multiverse — Most of the attention surrounding 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness right now is directed towards the mysterious role that Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff is set to play in it. But Wanda isn’t the only major character appearing in Multiverse of Madness.
The Doctor Strange sequel will also feature the first MCU appearance of actress Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez. The character, also known as Ms. America, is a powerful and formidable hero capable of — wait for it — creating portals that allow her to travel freely through time and the multiverse.
In other words, she’s a hero with an ability that makes her uniquely well-suited to combatting a time-traveling, multiverse-hopping villain like Kang. In fact, she may be the hero that the other Avengers end up relying on during their final fight against Kang.
Who is America Chavez in Doctor Strange 2?
America Chavez unleashing some of her signature snark in Young Avengers Vol. 2 #1. Published in 2013.
America Chavez was born in the Utopian Parallel, a peaceful dimension that exists outside of time and was created by an omnipotent being known as the Demiurge, who also happens to be William Kaplan a.k.a. Wiccan a.k.a. one of Wanda Maximoff’s twin sons (it’s hard to explain). Growing up in the presence of the Demiurge resulted in America absorbing superpowers that, among other things, allow her to smash open star portals that let her travel through the multiverse.
Her mothers sacrificed themselves to save the Utopian Parallel from a dangerous threat when she was just six years old. Out of grief, she punched open a star portal and left the Utopian Parallel in the hopes of one day proving herself to be a hero that her mothers would be proud of.
Her journeys through the multiverse eventually led to her being a member of a number of notable Marvel comics teams, including the Teen Brigade, the Ultimates, A-Force, West Coast Avengers, Hel-Rangers, and Young Avengers. She identifies as a lesbian and has a close friendship in the comics with Kate Bishop, the character Hailee Steinfeld will play in the upcoming Disney+ series Hawkeye.
In addition to being able to create star portals, America can fly and has superhuman speed, strength, and invulnerability. She lives longer than normal human beings on Earth and can harness the powerful energy within her to deal devastatingly powerful physical attacks.
America Chavez creates a star portal in Young Avengers Vol. 2 #7. Published in 2013.
The Inverse Analysis — Leaked production art from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness confirmed that America will be able to create her signature star portals in the film, so we know she’ll be capable of multiversal travel in the MCU. Unconfirmed rumors about the film have also suggested that her ability to travel through the multiverse will be a key plot point in it, making her a target of the film’s rumored villain (and possibly someone of interest to Wanda Maximoff).
No matter how she factors into the plot of the Doctor Strange sequel, America should have a long future in the MCU — especially if the growing rumors about a Young Avengers project ultimately prove to be true. More importantly, it’s possible that she will end up being essential to helping The Avengers stop Kang’s multiversal, time-traveling escapades.
In fact, don’t be surprised if she ends up playing a role similar to the one that Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) did in Avengers: Endgame — only this time they won’t need help traveling through the Quantum Realm, but through the multiverse itself.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on March 25, 2022.
